Some Kenyan families reject Boeing’s compensation for crash

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Fifteen Kenyan families of people killed in a plane crash in Ethiopia in March on Friday rejected a proposal by Boeing to compensate them, saying they will pursue their claims in court.

“So far our clients have rejected negotiations outside court,” Lawyer Irungu Kangata said. He said Boeing has twice tried to initiate settlement negotiations with them in June. Kangata said they are not pursuing compensation from Ethiopian Airways.

Boeing faces dozens of lawsuits over two crashes of their 737 Max jets. Relatives of passengers on a Lion Air 737 Max that crashed off the coast of Indonesia agreed to try to settle through mediation, but families of passengers killed in an Ethiopian Airlines crash are waiting until more is known about the accidents.

Boeing said Wednesday it will provide $100 million over several years to help families and communities affected by two crashes of its 737 Max planes that together killed 346 people. Boeing said the offer is separate from any compensation that may result from the lawsuits against the company.

Boeing said that some of the money will go toward living and to cover hardship suffered by the families of dead passengers.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.